


Ruby's Story Part 1

by valeries26



Series: Ruby's Story [1]
Category: One Piece, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-08 00:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6831709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valeries26/pseuds/valeries26
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Avenger Ruby Romanoff at age 7 had lost her memories. Now, at 20, she finds herself in their World. She wants to go home, but could it be she is already home? She joins the Straw Hat Pirates on their adventures through the Grand Line.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 0: Ruby’s past

Chapter 0: Ruby’s past

Date: August 26th, 2002  
Location: SHIELD HQ, Top Secret Location

She felt like she rose from a deep, dark sea, coming back to her body. She slowly opened her eyes. Her nose burnt as she peered around a small room, taking in everything.  
A strange machine beeped off to her left, a box had moving images just like the…she blinked. Just like what? She sneezed, her eyes snapping shut and her body curled forwarded. She leant back. Her right index figure rubbed her nose. She looked around, again. Where was she, anywhere? Nothing in this room looked familiar. She stretched the side of her head. She felt something wrapped around her head. Maybe mommy put it there for some reason. She pulled off the strange clothes pin thing off her finger before she reached over and pulled the white thing off her upper left arm. She swung her legs over the bed before she hopped down. Something pulled at her chest. She looked own her gown and found four little white squares. She reached down. She whimpered as she slowly pulled the first one off.

‘Just like a bandage,’ she thought, ‘Easier to be quick,’ as she jerked the last three off.

She walked toward the door, but she felt a sharp pain in her lower left arm. She glanced down and spotted a needle sticking out of her arm. She grabbed it and pulled it out of her arm. She noticed blood start run down her arm. 

“Uh-oh,” she muttered. She looked around and saw paper towels on the counter by the sink. She reached up and grabbed a couple. She placed it against her boo-boo. She held her cup hand there. Her eyes drifted around the room, “Mommy won’t be upset, now,” she said, softly.

Her orbs landed on a pretty green ribbon on a flower vase. She grabbed the ribbon with her free hand before she wrapped it around the paper towels, holding them in place.  
Now, she could go play. She grinned, brightly. She walked to the door, looking for the door handle. The door slid open by itself. She went starry-eyed, whispered, “So cool!”  
She stepped into the hallway and choose to go down the left hallway. She wonder where her sisters were hiding at. A frown briefly crossed her lips. Her sisters were playing hide-and-seek without her. She grinned, brightly. She was gonna get them. She giggled as she ran down the hallway.

Ten minutes later, she had no clue where she was at. A loud siren blarred to life. She let a small scream, slapping her hands over her ears to block the annoying sound. Red lights flashed through the hallway. She whimpered, sacred. Where was her mommy and daddy? She turned around, looking for her mommy and daddy. Maybe they were with her sisters. She sniffed. Didn’t daddy say once she had to be strong for her younger sisters because she was the oldest? She nodded to herself. Mommy and daddy, maybe, protecting her sisters from the flashing red monster. She had to find them and help mommy and daddy protect her sisters.

She ran down the halls, looking for a hint of her mommy, daddy, or sisters. Her ears rang with the screams of the monster, but she heard the rhythmic thudding of footsteps. She paled. Her eyes darted around. There! A door! She could hide in there until the monster past. She flew over to the door and pulled on the door handle. The door inched back. She slipped a hand between the door and the frame. She pushed on the door and squeezed her body between the frame and the door. She placed her hands on the door, slowly, closing the door.

She waited for the monster to past the door. She held the side of her head up to the door, trying to listen. She heard the door handle move. She gasped. Her blue orbs widen with fear. The Monster! It found her!

She backed up, away from the door. She bit her lower lips to keep from whimpering, loudly. She wanted her daddy. Her daddy would protect her from the monster. The door opened. She squeezed her eyes shut. She crunched down in a little ball. Her arms over her head. She didn’t want to see the monster. It couldn’t hurt her if she couldn’t see it, right?

A soft giggle rang through the air. She paused. She peered through one eye to look at the doorway. She blinked, opening both eyes. A woman with red, curly hair stood there.  
She raised her head. She heard the woman say something she didn’t understand. She uncurled from her ball and slowly stepped toward the woman. Was this woman her mother?  
They had some hair color. Plus, this woman seemed familiar.

“MOMMY!” She launched her tiny frame into the woman, “I was sacred, mommy,” She cried, rubbing her face in her mommy’s chest, “don’t leave me, again, mommy.”

~Natasha~

“Agent Romanoff,” Nick Fury called out before the infamous Black Widow could leave his office, “I need you to join on the search party,” she looked confused, “Our little Jane Doe finally woke up and ran off to god knows where.”

“I’m surprised that our princess is up and moving after a three month coma,” Natasha Romanoff replied, “But I’ll see what I can do to help.”

The Black Widow walked to the Jane Doe’s room, planning to get some clues when she spotted the red head girl opening up a door and disappear into a closet. A moment later, a squad of SHIELD agents came thudding through. One of the agents stopped by her and asked, “Agent Romonoff, have you seen a little girl came through her?”

“No,” she replied. The agent nodded and hurried away. Natasha shook her head. She would be recommending to someone to double the shealth training. She walked calmly to the closet door and slowly turned the door knob. She opened the closet door, standing behind the door. She half expected to be attacked. She peered around the door. The girl shook in fear, hiding her head under her arms. Natasha giggled at the image. The girl looked up and stood up. Natasha said, “Hey little one, what are you doing in here?”

“Ka-san!” the girl cried out and threw herself at Natasha, repeating the word. 

A few minutes later, the Black Widow told the short story at Fury. He grinned at her, responded, “Ka-san meaning in Japanese mom, mother, mommy. Welcome to motherhood.” He told her cheerfully, “Take care of our Jane Doe.” Fury stood up and called out “Have fun” before he left the room, leaving the girl and Natasha alone.

 

Date: December 17, 2009  
Time: 10:30 pm  
Location: New York – a random Street

Ruby Romanoff walked on the sidewalk, heading home. Her head bopped to the music she listened to, ignoring the world around her. She didn’t hear the screeching tires. She did see the black figures swarm around her. She opened her mouth to scream. A cold hand covered her mouth. Ruby felt sharp pain in the side of her neck. Darkness carried her away.

Date: Unknown  
Time: Unknown  
Location: A Small Room, unknown

Ruby’s head throbbed. She stared into the darkness. The only sound echoed in the room was the sound of her breathing. She shifted, uncomfortable. She gasped. Fire like pain erupted in her hips, lower back, and upper thighs. Her eyes watered. A tear slipped down her dirty cheek. Where was her mother? Ruby never wanted her mother more. She remembered the last conversation they had. 

“Why I can’t go the basketball game? All of my friends will be there and we already made plans,” Ruby argued.

“I said no, Ruby,” Natasha glared at the teen, “I don’t you want to go. I have to be out of town for a couple days.”

“I hate you, Natasha,” Ruby whispered, “I want my real parents.”

The sound of the door slamming shut echoed in Ruby’s head. She curled up on the floor. She whispered, “I’m sorry, mama,” she fought tears, “Please forgive me, mama.” She closed her eyes, trying to image someone saving her from this nightmare.

Location: The Moby Dick

Marco woke, rubbing his eyes or he tried to. He opened his eyes and stared down at his body. Angry trills escaped his break as he realized what happen. It was his mating season – for the next two long fucking weeks. Someone pounded on his door and Thatch called out, “Hey, Marco, are you awake?”

Marco buried his head under his wing. This time of year was also known as Pick on Marco Season. Thatch opened the door and commented, “I guess we will have to find you a lady bird so Pops can have birdy grandkids.”

Marco lifted his head and glared at the cook. The entire crew was aware of the fact Marco was extremely testy during his mating season. Thatch shouldn’t look so surprise when Marco launched off the bed at the 4th division commander.

~Ruby~

Her blue orbs snapped open when she heard the door open and shut. Her rapist stepped into the room, blending in with the darkness. Ruby glared at him. He stepped forward.

“Where is Natasha Romanoff?” he questioned. It was the same question, every fucking time he stepped into the room.

“I have no clue,” she repeated her answer, “Even if I knew where the woman was at, I wouldn’t tell you, asshole.” She felt his displeased gaze behind his mask.

Her rapist growled. He reached down for one of her legs. Ruby felt his hand wrap around her left ankle. He dragged her toward him.  
Not again! No! Ruby had enough. She felt something snap deep within her mind. 

Light pooled into the room behind the injuried teen. A soft breeze carrying the scent of the ocean filled the room. Ruby turned her head. The man stopped, looking in that direction. 

The red head forced her right leg up close to her rear, her hands curled on the rim of whatever it was behind her, and she jerked her leg out of her rapist gasp. She pushed backwards as the man tried to grab her again. Ruby fell backwards into thin air with a mile-wide grin. She would take anything over being raped again. She flipped the man off as she started to drift downward.

Ruby lend back, spreading her arms out. She viewed the pretty blue, cloudless sky in the first time in what felt like forever. She took a deep breath, inhaling the salty air, closing her eyes. She felt her greasy red hair fly about her head. She opened her eyes. Her grin disappeared. Her rapist jumped out of the black hole after her. A mental arm extended out. She knew he glared at her from behind his blacken goggles and face mask. Ruby cursed, softly. She twisted in the air. She snapped her legs together. She pinned her arms to her sides. She faced downward. Her eyes widen. There was a crystal blue ocean for miles around. It sparkled in the sunlight like a dozen diamonds, except for one spot. Ruby couldn’t make it out. As she got closer, she noticed it was a ship.

~Marco~

Marco let out a sigh as he fought the urge to maul some of the people he was forced to call siblings. Pops wouldn’t do anything. He found it as amusing as the rest of the family did that Marco had transformed for his mating season. He sat highest point on the tallest mast. He cocked his head, hearing something…was that screaming?  
His keen eye sight darted over the deck. Who the hell was screaming? Where they under attack? If they were, he would be able to work off some stress. He hoped they were under attack. He didn’t see any enemy ships nearby. The screaming got closer. He glanced up. He blinked twice to make sure he was not seeing things. 

A red head cute teen fell toward the ship with a man dressed in black clothes and he had a mental arm. 

That had to be the strangest thing the Phoenix had seen in a long time since the crew traveled through Paradise. One time, a rotten ship fell on top of them while they were heading to Jaya.

~Ruby~

She couldn’t help the scream that escaped her as she neared the ship’s sails. She could have sworn there was a huge blue bird sitting on one of the masts, but she fell too fast to really see it. She reached out and grabbed one of the sails, trying to slow her fall. 

There was a loud squawk as Ruby grabbed onto something, but it gave away. She brought her left hand up into her sight. Yup, there was a blue bird, nearby. She held a blue feather in her hand. She reached out again and grabbed the sail. She felt her body turn in the air and slammed into the sail. 

Her rapist flew by and straight into the deck with a crashing boom. Ruby hoped he had died a painful death. She held onto the sail as tight as she could. She heard a loud rip and glanced at her hands. Her fingers dug through the sail. She slid down toward the deck with a small squeak. She felt her feet hit something and she let out a sigh of relief. She saw a flash of blue out of the corner of her eye and she turned her head. The huge blue bird floated a few feet away, watching her. She blinked at it. Was that a phoenix? 

“Beautiful,” she breathed. The bird cooed softly.

There was a loud commotion from the deck. Ruby looked down and cursed a blue streak as she noticed the rapist stepped out of the hole. The bird let out a laughing sound. She glared at the bird and commented, “It’s not funny. I can’t believe he’s still alive. Damn him. I can’t take anymore. I rather die.” The bird cocked its head to the side. “I think you are a phoenix, if I am right.” Ruby’s eyes darted downward. She didn’t see the bird look at her. “I wish I could be a bird,” she whispered, wishfully, “At least, I could get away from that raping monster.”

The phoenix let out a series of angry trills. Ruby stared at it wide eyed. The phoenix flew close to her, turned around, and stared at her before it motion to climb on. She blinked at it. She reached out her left arm and wrapped it around the base of the Phoenix’s neck before she wrapped her other arm and grabbed her left wrist within her right hand. She shifted her body weight onto the phoenix. 

The Phoenix shot forwarded. Ruby ducked her head down, almost burying her face into the bird’s back. She felt the bird slow down and she glanced up, spotting a huge man with a black bandana covering his blond hair and a white mustache under his nose. She paled. She looked around. She saw men, half dressed and armed. They looked at her and her rapist with curiosity looks on their faces. 

The phoenix drifted to the deck before it did a quick motion and Ruby hung from its neck. She whimpered, not wanting to let go. She felt her feet touched the deck.  
Ruby heard some shuffle forward after a moment. She stepped closer to the bird and tighten her gasp on her arms. She bit her lower lip. She felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders. She flinched. Her eyes darted over her shoulder to see a woman wearing thick make-up and a flowery kimono. The woman gently pulled the teen away from the bird.  
Ruby noticed one important thing after the phoenix shot toward her rapist. The woman with the flowery kimono was flat chested and when she spoke to Ruby, she had a deep voice. Ruby stared in horror. It was a man dressed as a woman. Her blue orbs rolled up into her head and she fell backwards as darkness swept her away.

Date: May 09, 2012  
Time: 1:45 pm  
Location: Downtown New York City, New York

Ruby Romanoff stared at the huge portal in the sky above Stark Tower in New York. She was 17 years old and she knew she might not live to see another sunrise. Why? Two reasons. One, a Norse God known as Loki decided to throw a huge fit because he figured out he was adopted. The second reason, aliens – real, fucking aliens – flew out of the portal and started to invade Earth. 

Ruby sighed. Today was already a long day and now, it was going to get even longer. She moved away from the viewport and strapped herself into a seat. She noticed the World War II hero, Captain America stood, holding a bar above his head. 

After she saw the huge creature known as the Hulk grabbed Iron Man from mid-air, Ruby panted as she looked around at the destruction. New York was not ready for something like this…alien invasion. She lent against a car. She heard Captain America through her earpiece, “Red Widow, you still with us?”

“Yeah, Cap,” Ruby replied back, “I’m still here.”

“Meet us back at Stark Tower,” Captain America ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Ruby said. She limped toward the tower. Her body ached as she made the track toward Stark Tower. She really wanted to punch Loki, now.

Date: August 20, 2015  
Time: 9:45am  
Location: Upper New York State, college campus

Ruby muttered a curse as she shoved the things she needed for the day into her bag. She was running late. She had overslept by two hours. Usually, she was already on campus by 8 and studied in the library before she went to her first class. Now, her first class was in 15 minutes. She grabbed her hair brush, grabbed her Ipod (it was her second one in 7 years. She somehow lost her first one while she was held and raped by a man known as the Winter Soldier), and forced her feet into her combat boots she wore out of habit, now. She slammed the dorm front door behind her as she dashed out. She slipped her arms through the straps of her book bag. She reached the bottom of the stairs and cursed as she realized she forgot her shinai. She doubled back and reached into her closet, grabbing the bamboo stick. She jumped over the stairs and landed in a crunch. She pushed up and headed to campus.

Ruby reached the main street. She glanced in both directions before she started across. She heard screeching tires. She glanced over at her right and saw a Semi trying to stop. How the hell did she missed that? She felt something surge through her.

By the time the semi stopped, Ruby Romanoff was gone, leaving nothing behind, except for her hair brush.


	2. Ruby Romanoff's on the Cruise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby lands in One Piece

Ruby Romanoff groaned as she slowly woke up. She felt the hot sun beat on her face. She opened her sky blue eyes. She looked around. Her bamboo sword laid near her left hand. She felt her green book bag shifting on her back as she moved her body. Her red hair stuck to her face like a glove as she noticed she was on top of a building. Something bit into her hands and knees. She looked down to see she was on gravel roof top. She pushed herself up to her feet and walked toward the edge of the building. Her right hand brushed away her hair and little bits of grovel from her face. Her eyes stared at what was happening below.

People of every shape and size were running around, going into some buildings and out of the building, carrying bags. There were groups of young women following a man who running from the buildings, ordering them to help. Chatter from below was starting to reach her ears as she watched. The dialogue sounded different from what she was used to and personally, it sounded like she was in entire different country. Kora? China? She thought she recognized the language, but her mind felt fuzzy.

‘How would that be possible?’ Ruby thought. She was walking to class and she drew a blank on what happen next. She pulled back from the edge of the building. She turned around and walked a couple paces before hearing the language again. Her eyes darted up and saw a door of a small building was slowly being opened. What would a person do when she is possible in a different country with no knowledge of local dialogue? Panic. Her adoptive mother would be so ashamed.

She grabbed her bamboo sword and darted toward the small building, feeling stupid. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. Ruby waited for the people either go back downstairs or…….something. She didn’t care as long as she was not discovered. She listened as the people started walking across the grovel roof. She turned her gaze to her surroundings.

There were buildings nearby she could jump to without her book bag, but with her book bag, it would be iffy. Her book bag weight from carrying her school books, notebooks, and laptop. 

Ruby peered around the corner of the small building. There were two men. One of the two men were a non-descript kind of man. The other man looked familiar with white hair, white jacket, and blue jeans. Smoke drifted toward the sky, indicating he was a smoker.

The voices came closer. Ruby grabbed the book bag straps, pulling them tight against her shoulders. She spotted their shadows moved toward her hiding spot, paused for a bit, and continued to walk toward her. She muffled a groan and tightened her gripped on her shinai, waiting for her time to arrive. She slipped her weapon through her book bag straps.

She heard the soft crunch of the gravel as they walked along the building housing the stairs. Ruby heard her heart pounding in her chest. She smelt the faint scent of tobacco drifting through the air. She looked toward the next building. She placed her hands on either side of her body. She took a deep breath. Her legs pumped. She headed straight toward the edge.

“OI!” Someone yelled behind her. She ignored them as she tried gain speed. She bent down on her left leg, planting on the roof’s edge and pushed off, jumping over the large gap that was between the two buildings. She thought the gap would be smaller than this 35 feet gap. Her sky blue eyes looked down and she paled. There were three stories of nothing but air before she would hit anything.

‘Ain’t that nice,’ she thought, ‘If mom finds out about this, she will never let me live this one down.’

Ruby noticed she losing altitude. She neared the next building and hit the edge of the roof top. She felt the air forced out of her lungs. Her lower half slammed against the brick wall. Her midsection ached. Her vision swam, darkening than brighten. She hanged there. 

Ruby heard a nasal kind of voice on the other building. She saw a shadow blocking out the sun above her, on the roof. She froze, weighting her options. She turned her head, looking up and got a face full of white smoke. Her eyes widen in surprise. Her lips parted. She jerked her body away from the smoke. She felt her body drift a moment in the air before gravity took effect. She fell three stories down. 

Ruby landed on something bouncy. She went flying through the air, again. She managed get her feet under her body and landed on her feet. She stumbled before she righted herself. She looked up to see the white smoke followed her down to street level. She watched the smoke transformed into the man with a white jacket. Ruby now saw his front side and noticed his jacket was open to reveal his bare, muscled chest. He wore a pair of tight blue jeans and he smoked two cigars. 

He stepped forward. Ruby twisted her body the opposite direction. She ran down the alley and she reached the alley mouth. She swayed her hips, planting her right foot before she changed directions, heading to the right. Ruby knew she needed to disappear into the crowd. She glanced behind her and she made a surprise noise in her throat. The cigar man chased after her.

She turned her gaze forward. She moved her legs faster. She felt the familiar burn in her legs. Her arms swung back and forth. She spotted another alley a few feet ahead. Ruby neared the alley. Her right arm snapped out and her hand wrapped around a pole attached to a vender’s stand. She swung her body around the tight corner. Her sky blue eyes went wide as she crashed into a young man with a scar under his left eye.

Ruby wrapped her legs around the man’s middle. Her hands held onto his shoulders, steading herself. He grabbed her waist, giving her a puzzled look.

‘Public displays of affection makes people uncomfortable,’ Natasha Romanoff had informed Ruby once before on a mission. 

Ruby tighten her grip on the man’s shoulders before she shifted her body weight. The man stumbled, turning around. She felt her back hit the wall. She smirked and slid her right hand up into the man’s black hair, nearly knocking off the straw hat. She pulled his head toward hers, slamming their lips together, closing her eyes.

Ruby heard several startled noises. One blue orb popped open, taking in a familiar looking group of three men and a young woman. Sincerely, who the hell would color their hair to the shade of a green cabbage? Ruby noticed surprise coloring their faces. She glanced at each of them, noticing their characteristics.

The cabbage head carried three swords at his side. He wore a white shirt with sweat stains around the armpits and near the collar. 

Next to Cabbage head, a long nose, tan man with curly black hair. On top of his head, a tan checkerboard bandana and a pair of goggles held his hair down. He wore a pair of brown overalls with a light tan sash - or was it a belt?- around his waist.

The last man was a blonde with a curly eyebrow. He wore a nice black suit with a white undershirt and a navy blue tie. He was different from his companions. There was a knowing glint in his eyes. His shoulders tensed. He was just like her – an assassin with a day job.

The young woman in the group had orange fucking hair, just like a carrot tops Ruby had seen roaming around the college campus, but her color hair was a brighter shade of carrot. She wore a white tank top with a bandage around her left shoulder and a blue skirt. She obviously had some sort of weapon, hiding under the skirt, but Ruby couldn’t tell what was it. 

Ruby pulled back away from the young man, risking a glance up toward the alley mouth. She smirked. That cigar man was gone. 

Ruby unwrapped her legs from the young man’s waist, placing her feet back on the ground. She smiled at the young man who had a faint blush on his pale checks. Ruby walked between the young man and the group of four. Her right hand slipped to the cabbage head’s waist, grasping the white sheath of one of his three swords. Her left hand nicked the straw hat. She walked away.

‘Good job, Ruby,’ she thought to herself, ‘Your mother would be proud. Just get something to cover up and figure out where the hell you are at.’ 

Ruby slipped her new sword between her blue jeans and belt. She reached up and took the hair tie out of her hair, making her shoulder length blood red hair fall about her shoulders. She ran her fingers through her hair, making sure the red strands didn’t fall into her face and placed the straw hat over her hair. Ruby hoped she looked like a traveler just passing through. She kept her gaze roaming around. Her eyes saw a mirror nearby and she paused. She walked over to the mirror. 

Ruby allowed her eyes roam over the image. The Straw Hat paired with her blood red hair reminded her of someone. A sharp pain flickered through her mind. She winced. She reached, placing her right hand against her head as she saw the image in the mirror transform into another person. 

The new person had shorter blood red hair, just stopping belong the ears. Ruby spotted three scars, running from a couple inches above the eyebrow, going over the left eye, and stopping an inch or two belong the eye. He had smiling dark eyes. She knew the person was a ‘he’. His lips stretched out into a wide grin with the beginnings of a mustache and a bread framing his lips the same color of his hair.

Ruby knew this man. She didn’t know where or how. She just knew she did know this man. Ruby blinked. The image disappeared into her reflection. Something moved in the distanced over her right shoulder. She reached out and adjusted the mirror.

The cabbage haired man, the long nose fella, and the blonde assassin spread out, trying to corner her. The man she kissed was coming straight at her. The four moved through the crowd, but where was the woman? Ruby saw her lips twitched into a coy, playful smirk. She took a several deep breaths then bolted to the left. She knew somebody used several curses behind her in the local language. She snorted in amusement. 

Ruby spotted the cigar man stepping out of a nearby shop. She muttered a curse. The cigar man turned his head to view her. She couldn’t stop running. She improvised. She planted her left foot less than a foot away from the cigar man. He raised his hand. Ruby ducked under his raised hand. She spun around his front. She saw the cabbage head, the long nose, and the scar under his eye man still chasing her. The blonde assassin was nowhere in sight. She finished her spin and darted through the crowded street.

“OI!” she heard the cigar man yelled. Ruby rolled her eyes. She cursed the fact the street was too damn packed for running. She got shoved to the side. She pushed two people out of the way. She spotted a stack of boxes going up the side of a building. 

‘I guess it’s time to parkour, assassin’s creed style,’ she thought. She pushed upward, tucking her legs up to her chest. She felt her feet land on the edge of the box. She threw her weight forwarded, pushing to her feet. She placed her left foot on the next box. ‘When I get back home, I really need to learn how to parkour, properly,’ Ruby promised herself. She struggled up to climb up the next three boxes, ‘Ezio made this look so fucking easy.’

Ruby finally reached the top of the boxes. She glanced back and saw the cabbage haired followed her up the boxes. She turned and jumped onto a lamp pole that extended from the wall. She bounced from lamp pole to lamp pole, only stopping when she reached the wall. She ran up the wall and grabbed the edge of the roof. She felt her arms ache as she pulled herself up onto the roof. 

Ruby took a look back and noticed the green haired man lost his balance and fell onto of the young man she kissed. She laughed. The green haired man yelled something at her. She ignored it and stood up. She walked across the roof top. She took a deep breath. She paused. What was that scent? She sniffed the air. She turned to the right. She blinked. 

Cobalt blue sky met a clear blue ocean.

Ruby’s college was nowhere near the blasted ocean. It was so far inland that the closest body of water was the two rivers meeting three miles away.

Ruby heard a noise. She glanced where it came from and saw the blonde assassin, staring at her, smoking a cigarette. He spoke with a rich tone. The words and the tone sounded familiar like she heard them before somewhere.

~Sanji~

It started out to be a lovely day, not a cloud in the sky. The Straw Hats Pirates landed on an island to restock on supplies since there was a certain straw hat captain who ate all of the food Sanji had stocked from Cocoyashi Village, including some of the leftovers from the feast the village people had in celebration of their new freedom from Arlong. It had started out as a lovely day.

Now, some lady stole Luffy’s straw hat and one of moss head’s swords before leading the crew on a chase through a crowded street. Sanji broke off from the other three and climbed to the roof tops, watching the red head lady. Eventually, she managed to shake off moss head and stood on a roof, looking down at his captain and the moss head with amusement.

Sanji causally walked over, jumping over the gaps between buildings. His landing made enough noise that the woman looked over at him. The cook of the Straw Hat Pirates took in the woman, noticing she stood with her shoulders back and her eyes level with his visible eye. She was one of the most beautiful ladies he had ever seen. Her red hair reflected the sun’s rays, making her hair seem to be covered in blood. She had an oval face with smooth skin, a small nose, plump lips, a rounded chin with a strong jaw. His eye traveled lower to her small chest, over her toned midsection, her wide childbearing hips, and down her long, toned legs to her feet. Her left hand was bare of any jewelry unlike her right which had a ring with a red spider surrounded by an onyx. Her left upper arm, just like his sweet, darling Nami, held a tattoo, but this lady’s tattoo was an eagle within a circle. On the eagle’s chest, there was a mutli-colored A. He thought it looked familiar. Maybe he saw it when he was younger. 

“Please, miss, I don’t want to fight you,” He started, “But if you could be most kind to hand over the Straw Hat and the sword, my crew mates would be happy.”

She cocked a red eyebrow. She took a step back. A confused glint entered her blue eyes. Sanji sighed, closing one eye. He took his hands out of his pockets. The woman tensed, ready for a fight. He slowly raised his hands up, showing he wasn’t going to fight her. 

“Do you understand me?” he asked. She didn’t reply. Her eyes darted over his shoulder and returned to settle on him. He partly turned to see moss head, the shitty captain, the shitty lair, and Nami-swan standing there.

~Ruby~

The blonde haired assassin raised his hands and spoke something else. Ruby kept quiet, but noticed his teammates finally showed up. She waited for the other assassin turn around. She bolted away.

“Matte!” the blonde shouted.

‘Matte? Matte…. where did I hear that word before?’ Ruby thought as she threw herself into the air. She soared before she landed on a foot, her leg straightened to a painful lock. She raced across the roof top, trying to create some space between the blonde and herself. She glanced over her shoulder and cursed as the blonde, the cabbage head, and the man she kissed ran after her, nearly catching up.

“Gum Gum no,” Ruby heard one of the trio call out. She skidded to a stop, kicking up gravel. She looked at the man she kissed. She took in his red vest, blue shorts, and sandles. She grabbed the straw hat from her head and studied it before she threw it toward the man. He grinned widely and caught the hat before he slipped it on. 

Ruby’s eyes widen. She could have slapped herself. Now, that he was wearing THE straw hat, Ruby finally knew who he was, Monkey D. Luffy the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. That meant cabbage head was ‘Pirate Hunter’ Roronano Zoro the first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates and the blonde assassin was ‘Black Leg’ Sanji, the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Ruby pulled the white sheathed sword from her side and tossed it to Zoro. He caught it. She turned away. She jumped off the roof’s edge as Sanji called out “Matte!”. She felt gravity take a hold and she fell straight down. She landed in a crunch before she rolled to the right, over her shoulder. She got up and walked to the beach. 

Ruby felt the sand shift as she put one of her wedge sandal feet on the tan surface. She walked toward the edge of the ocean. She stood there, staring out. The ocean was a deep, beautiful blue that seem to stretched on for miles and miles. She wondered how the hell did she end up in the One Piece world. She knew there were many worlds out there, thanks to long conversations with Thor the god of thunder, but she never thought she would travel to one.

Ruby could call for Thor to take her back home. Would the ever watching man of the biofrost hear her? Was this world even connected to Asguard? What if Thor couldn’t come, would she be stuck here forever?

Ruby walked along the shoreline as she thought. SHIELD didn’t prepare her for this. She didn’t know what do to. She had an idea. Maybe, just maybe, she could travel with the Straw Hats for a bit, not officially join their crew, but similar to what Vivi did, at least. She blinked and saw she had wondered along the shoreline long enough that she walked the dock area.  
Ruby stared amazed at the different wooden ships and came to the one she knew as the Going Merry with the skull and crossbones pirate symbol wearing a straw hat. It had been so long since she had seen this ship. Her blue eyes took in the ram figure hand to the small tree grove on top of the kitchen to the back deck.

The next chapter of One Piece, Chapter 798, was supposed to come the day after her birthday. The Straw Hats – Zoro, Luffy, Robin, Franky, and Usopp – were escaping Dressrosa with Law as the Marines chasing after them in Chapter 797. Ruby knew the next arc was gonna start soon.

Ruby was so used to seeing the Thousand Sunny as the Straw Hat ship that seeing the Going Merry looking like a brand new ship was almost weird. 

_June 3, 2007- Saturday Night_

_Ruby jumped on the couch, excited. She already plugged her laptop up to the TV so she could watch her favorite anime on a bigger screen. The latest episode of One Piece was about to start – 312, Thank you Merry, Snow falls over the parting sea._

_The Going Merry made a loud creaking sound, a moan, and her bow broke apart from the middle deck. The Straw Hats and their three guests fell forward. Usopp disguised as Sniper King grabbed ahold of the railing and Robin sat on the railing. Chopper fell onto his face causing Luffy to roll over Chopper’s head. Sanji countered the sharp angle by sitting down._

_“Merry,” Usopp gasped._

_“Why is it breaking all of the sudden,” Zoro asked, surprised._

_“There’s nothing sudden about it,” Sanji replied, “We all knew this was inevitable.” Luffy looked over at the cook, “They told us right before we left,” Luffy got to his knees, holding his hat, giving his cook his full attention as the cook continued to speak, “they said the Merry was unfit to sail.”_

_“Yeah, but,” Luffy started to protested._

_Nami stared horrified down into the crack that formed when the Merry broke apart, seeing the wooden deck pulled apart, leaving jagged edges. “What happen to you, Merry?” The navigator asked._

_Luffy turned and hurried to his favorite seat, kneeling on his knees, and cried up to the Gallay-La company ship, “Ice-pops, help. Merry is in trouble. Can’t you do something? You got here just in time. You all are shipwrights, aren’t you? We’re begging you.”_

_Ruby gulped back tears as she watched one of the strongest characters she knew in the show beg for a nakama’s live._

_“Don’t let her die, now,” Luffy cried out, “Merry is more then just a ship, she’s a member of our crew. If it wasn’t for her, we’ve all would have died back there, so come on, do something!”_

_The members of the Galley-La didn’t say anything for a long moment as Iceburg and Luffy stared at each other. Iceburg’s gaze drifted to the figure head before he replied, “She’s fought hard for you, but it’s time to let her rest.” Luffy looked pained and scared. “And besides,” Iceburg went on, “I’ve already done everything I can.”_

_Ruby watched after the comical as the Straw Hats stood in two dingys. Luffy stood in one of the dingys with a lit torch. He set the Going Merry on fire and pushed away from the ship, drifting back toward his crew._

_“Thank you for carrying us for so long and so far, Merry,” Luffy whispered.  
“Snow?” Nami held out her hand as snow started to fall. Ruby heard one of the ending themes start to play as various flashbacks clips played, the first time the Straw Hats got the Going Merry, and the Jolly Roger._

_Ruby watched as the Straw Hats except for Zoro and Sanji fought back tears as the Merry burnt, getting a Viking style funnel. The red head sitting on her couch sniffed, fighting back her own tears._

_“I’m sorry,” The Going Merry said. Through the flames, it looked like the Going Merry was crying, “I wanted to carry everyone just a little bit further. I had so much fun. I wished our adventures never end.”_

_“Merry,” Chopper cried out. Ruby saw Nami sink to her knees, hands covering her face._

_“I’m sorry,” the Going Merry repeated. Luffy shouted back, commenting all the times he ran the ship into iceburgs, the fights Sanji and Zoro had, Usopp tried to fix her even though he wasn’t a trained shipwright, and cried, falling to his knees. “I was happy. I know you always treated me with love. Thank you.”_

_The Going Marry vanished into flames and Luffy shouted to the heavens, “MERRY!”_

Ruby shook head, trying to get rid of the memory of that episode. She stared at the Going Merry. She walked over to the rope ladder and pulled herself aboard. She stared around the deck.

“This is the first time I’m seeing you in person,” Ruby whispered to the ship, running a hand over the smooth white railing, walking up to the bow, “And yet, I know so much you and the crew you are sailing with,” a faint smile flickered on her lips. 

Ruby walked by the mast. She heard a light thud. She threw her gaze over her right shoulder. Sanji took on the deck, hands in his pockets, giving her a curiosity stare. Zoro’s moss colored head appeared as he climbed the rope ladder. 

Ruby ignored them, walking back toward the back deck. She heard the light footsteps behind her and glanced over her shoulder. Sanji followed her. She cocked an eyebrow. She knew, from her One Piece research, Sanji could be representing the country of France and he used the French terminology when he called out his attack. She remembered she took a couple French speaking classes back in high school before she decided to get home schooled after the Battle of New York.

“Bonjour,” she greeted.

Sanji blinked at her in surprise and replied, “Bonjour, madame.”

“Je ne suis pas madame,” Ruby corrected him.

“Mes excuses, mademoiselle,” Sanji said. They stared at each other as Luffy, Nami, and Usopp finished climbing aboard. Zoro and the cowardly duo stood behind Sanji, looking at Ruby with mistrust. Luffy looked at her.

“Réduisons la chasse,” Sanji nodded, agreeing with wither, “Nous savons tous les deux ce que l'autre est. Je suis Ruby,” she introduced herself.

“C'est un beau nom pour un bijou comme vous. Je suis Sanji, le cuisinier,” Sanji replied.

“Qui sont tes amis?” Ruby lend against the railing.

“Celui portant le chapeau de paille est Luffy, la tête épéiste mousse est Zoro, long nez est Usopp, et la belle dame est Nami. Pourquoi es-tu ici?” Sanji asked.

“Je suis à la recherche d'un navire de voyager pendant un certain temps. Quel est le nom de l'équipage?” Ruby replied.

Sanji smiled at her, “Nous sommes les Pirates Chapeau de Paille.”

“Anata wa, shankusu no musumede wanai sa rete imasu. Watashi wa anata ga watashi no norikumiin ni sanka shitaidesu,” Luffy spoke up a moment later. There was a glint of recognition in his dark eyes.

Ruby blinked at him in surprise. She didn’t understand what Luffy said, but she could probably guess from the crews’ reactions. Nami stared at him and started at him. Usopp joined in. Zoro and Sanji shrugged their shoulders.

“Qu'a t'il dit?” Ruby asked, confused.

“Vous êtes la fille de Shanks, ne sont pas vous. Je veux que vous joindre à mon équipe,” Sanji translated for her.

Ruby blinked. Shanks’ daughter? She didn’t know he had any, but that would explain why – the image from the mirror floated forwarded in her mind – she had saw his face in the mirror. She only wanted to travel with the Straw Hats until she figured out how to go home.

“Je n'ai aucune idée. J'ai perdu ma mémoire lorsque j'étais plus jeune. Je ne vais pas rejoindre votre équipe, mais je voudrais voyager avec vous pendant un certain temps,” Ruby finally replied.

Sanji turned to Luffy and repeated, “Watashi wa kentōmotsukanai. Watashi ga wakakatta toki, watashi wa watashi no kioku o ushinaimashita. Watashi wa anata no norikumiin ni sanka shimasenga, watashi wa shibarakunoaida, anata-tachi to issho ni ryokō shitai to omoimasu.”

Luffy frowned, slightly, and said, “Watashi wa hontōni anata ga watashi no norikumiin ni sanka shitaidesu, Ruby-chan, Watashi wa anata ga watashitachi to issho ni ryokō dekiru yō ni narimasu.”

Sanji translated, “Je veux vraiment vous joindre à mon équipe, Ruby-chan, mais je vais vous permettre de voyager avec nous.”

“Merci,” Ruby nodded her head toward the Straw Hat captain. Sanji reiterated what Ruby said in the local language.

“Dōitashimashite,” Luffy said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conversation between Ruby and Sanji with Luffy:  
> Ruby: Hello  
> Sanji: Hello, madam  
> Ruby: I’m not a madam.  
> Sanji: My apologies, miss.  
> Ruby: Let’s cut the chase. We both know what the other is. My name is Ruby.  
> Sanji: That is a beautiful name for a gem like yourself. I’m Sanji, the cook.  
> Ruby: Who are your friends?  
> Sanji: The one wearing the straw hat is Luffy, the moss head swordsman is Zoro, the long nose is Usopp, and the beautiful lady is Nami. Why are you here?  
> Ruby: I’m looking for a ship to travel on for a while. What’s the crew’s name?  
> Sanji: We are the Straw Hat Pirates  
> Luffy: You are Shanks’ daughter, aren’t you. I want you to join my crew.  
> Ruby: What did he say?  
> Sanji: You are Shanks’ daughter, aren’t you. I want you to join my crew.  
> Ruby: I have no clue. I lost my memory when I was younger. I won’t join your crew, but I would like to travel with you guys for a while.  
> Luffy: I really want you to join my crew, Ruby-chan, but I will allow you travel with us.  
> Sanji: I really want you to join my crew, Ruby-chan, but I will allow you travel with us.  
> Ruby: Thank you  
> Sanji: You’re welcome


	3. Luffy’s wanted Poster and Mirror Ball Island

Ruby eyed the food in front of her. It appeared to chicken and rice with a mixture of fruits and vegetables. She watched the rest of the crew out of the corner of her eye, waiting.

Luffy didn’t appeared to be waiting for the ‘okay’. He dug right in. Ruby was glad she didn’t lose her appetite, just watching him shove food into his mouth.

Zoro ate at a pace just slower than the Straw Hat Captain. Nami closed her eyes and ate a normal speed. Usopp guarded his plate as he noticed Luffy start stretching across the table for more food. Sanji, sitting next to Ruby, sighed, after he grabbed a plate of food, _“What’s wrong, Ruby-chan?”_

 _“Nothing,”_ Ruby replied, too quick. She mentally cursed. She need to train her response time when it came to lying. She didn’t want to accuse Sanji of possible poisoning the food. She waited long enough for any poison, she knew of, to become active and killed a person. So far, none of the crew knelt over. She grabbed her chopsticks and tried to pick up some food. She managed after three attempts and brought it up to her mouth.

Luffy, suddenly, started choking. Ruby froze. Her face hardened. Her blue colored orbs shot over to him. None of the others were panicking. Zoro reached over and slapped Luffy’s back, hard. Whatever Luffy was choking on, went down. He went back to eating. Ruby felt Sanji’s gaze on her as she took the first bite of food. She ignored him as she chewed the tender, spicy chicken, the blend rice, the buttered flavor of the vegetable, and the sweetness of the fruit. She shallowed. Her mouth cried for more. However, it was missing something for her tastes. She tested the rice. Yup, it was missing.

 _“Could I have some salt?”_ she asked, remembering to be polite. Sanji got up and walked over to a cabinet by the stove. He opened it and reached into the bottom shelf. Ruby saw it held various spices in various containers- small appeared to be on the bottom shelf, medium sized containers were placed on the middle and the large containers – the ones you could find at a local Sam’s club or another food warehouse – housed on the top shelf of the cabinet. Sanji grabbed whatever he was looking for and turned around, closing the cabinet with a snap. Ruby watched him as she chewed on another bit of chicken. She glanced down in time to see a hand reached for her chicken. 

Ruby grabbed the wondering hand in a tight grip. She followed the arm up to Luffy’s guilty face. She had an idea. She started to speak, _“Sanji, could you please translate for Luffy something?”_ Sanji nodded. Ruby leveled her eyes with Luffy’s and continued her idea, _“The last time someone tried to steal food from me, he lost two fingers and I gain two extra sausages with bones for breakfast.”_

Sanji repeated what she said. Luffy’s face grew horrified. Usopp and Nami looked like they were about to pass out. Zoro paused, watching her. Ruby slowly brought the hand up to her mouth, licking her lips. Luffy struggled to get his hand away from Ruby. She parted her lips and opened wide with sharp teeth as she forced the hand nearer to her mouth. Luffy lend back in his chair, pulling on his hand. Ruby loosen her grip, slightly, allowed the hand to slip through hers and bit down into the thin air. She smirked at Luffy in amusement. Luffy fell back, landing on his upper back. Ruby grabbed another piece of chicken and vegetable before she popped them in her mouth.

Sanji walked over and handed her what she assumed was the salt shaker. he sat back down beside her. She held out her hand and shook some of the white grains into her palm before she licked it. The tang of the salt was familiar to her. She shook some salt over the unflavored rice and mixed it into the rice.

Zoro said something, staring at her. Sanji spoke up, _“Moss head wants to know if that story has anything truth to it.”_

 _“Not an ounce,”_ Ruby replied, meeting Zoro’s eyes, _“However, it will teach someone not to steal from my plate or I will see if I like the taste of rubber enough to have it once in a while.”_

Usopp did faint at that. Luffy pouted as he realized what happen. Zoro roared with laughter. Nami gave her a fearful look. Sanji shook in his head in amusement.

 _“I don’t poison the food I cook,”_ Sanji commented after dinner. Ruby helped clean up the makeshift dining table. It was just a few boxes with a slab of wood slapped together and a table cloth covered it all.

Ruby paused, replying, _“I was that transpired?”_ The blonde nodded. _“I need to work on my poker face. My mom would have been so ashamed.”_

 _“Yes, you do, my dear,”_ Sanji agreed as he put away any leftover. There were very few leftovers. Ruby carried over the dirty dishes. _“So, why did you become an assassin?”_

 _“It wasn’t much of a choice for me,”_ she replied, remembering the reason, _“Grew up with mom as an assassin and a super spy. What about you? Why did you get trained as one and cook as a day job?”_

 

 _“My father didn’t give me much of a choice,”_ Sanji commented, _“but I haven’t seen him since I was 9. I fled home and hop aboard a cruise as a kitchen aid, eventually meet the man who taught me how to cook.”_

Ruby nodded, understanding. If it was not for the fact, Natasha taught Ruby how to tell if somebody was a threat or not, Ruby would have missed the signs of Sanji’s past training.

The following morning dawned and Ruby stepped out of the women’s quarters with her laptop in hand. She headed to the kitchen, planning to use the software Tony installed to help her learn the Japanese language. 

Sanji already was forearms deep in cooking. Zoro walked past Ruby as she sat down at the kitchen table and set the laptop on the table top. She noticed the green hair man paused. She felt his eyes over her form, eventually settling on her laptop. She opened the lid and waited to type in her password. She plugged in her earbud. She saw the log in screen and with lightning speed from practice, she typed in her password. 

“Good morning, Ms. Ruby,” she heard her personal A.I. say into her right ear, “I can’t tell you at the moment the weather for today or traffic.”

“Morning, Phoenix,” she replied, “I would be highly surprised if you did.”

“Who is that handsome man behind you?”

Ruby smiled in amusement, “His name is Zoro of the Straw Hat Pirates.”

“Straw hat pirates?” Phoenix asked, question, as Ruby nodded, “As in from the anime show One –“

“The same, Phoenix,” Ruby cut in. She blinked, realizing she was thirsty. She got up and unplugged the earbud. “You could create a reminder.”

“Reminder for what?” Zoro stepped back in shocked. Sanji glanced over his shoulder, hearing another female in the kitchen.

“Challenge Tony to connect you to the mainframe across dimensions,” she said, heading to the fridge. She opened the fridge and peered in.

 _“What are you looking for, Ruby, dear,”_ Sanji asked, peering at her.

 _“Cola, soda, pop, fruzzy drink, whatever you guys call it,”_ Ruby replied back.

 _“I’m sorry, darling, we don’t have any right now,”_ Sanji responded. 

_“What about highly caffeinated tea”_ Ruby asked. She was gonna have to survive without her life blood for a bit. 

Sanji nodded, _“That I do have. Sugar?”_

“Poor Ruby,” Phoenix chirped, “She doesn’t have any soda.”

“I will dismantle you for money to buy said soda,” Ruby warned, glaring at her laptop. _“Honey, please and thank you,”_ she replied to Sanji.

 _“Steep for two minutes,”_ Phoenix educated Sanji how to make the hot drink the exact way Ruby liked her teas.

 _“Bossy A.I.”_ Ruby muttered loud enough for Sanji to hear.

“I heard that,” Phoenix commented dryly. Zoro said something. Sanji turned to Ruby when Phoenix replied in Japanese. Both men turned to the laptop, surprise written over their faces. 

‘I think I just lost my laptop for the day,’ she thought as she listened to the Japanese flowing from the laptop. She noticed Nami, Usopp, and Luffy wondered into the kitchen after a few minutes. The entire crew asked questions to the A.I. and Phoenix replied. 

Ruby left the kitchen and decided to grab the power cord, knowing Phoenix had only three-hour battery life. She reappeared with the power cord in hand. She stepped into the kitchen and paused as the crew looked at her.

“They want to know why I am named ‘Phoenix’,” the A.I. informed her. Ruby felt her body straighten. Her eyes went cold as glaciers. Her face hardened into a stone. Her shoulders went back, tensing. Her hands curled into fists. Her arms tighten up. A flash of bright blue with yellow tinted flames went through her mind. They were so much like Marco the Phoenix’s flames. It felt natural naming her A.I after the mythical bird. After all Ruby went through a similar transformation, raising from the ashes of what burnt her.

“Tell them, I got the name in a dream I had when I was 14, nothing more,” she ordered. She made eye-catch connect with Sanji, by mistake. She watched his eye widen before she moved to the counter. She spotted the plug and pushed the power supply into the wall. She went to her laptop and grabbed it. She set it on the counter by the wall and plugged it in. “Are you done giving an explanation on what the hell you are?”

“Yeah,” Phoenix knew the subject they asked was a touchy one, “So, do you know their language?”

“Just it is Japanese,” Ruby stated, “Can you teach me?”

“Hai,” Phoenix replied, “I will go over the basics with you. You should know some of it since you watch that show all of the time.”

“Not all the time,” Ruby argued, “Just most of my free time.”

Phoenix managed to teach Ruby the basics around meal time. The following day, Phoenix got Ruby to know more of the language and Ruby started to get to a hang of it.

The fourth day of being with the Straw hat crew, Ruby sat with her back to the mast, her eyes close. She took a break from studying. She planned to pick it up again after lunch. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy the sun. Ruby felt a presence loom above her. She popped open an eye, looking up at the swordsman.

~Zoro~

The swordsman spotted the red head woman sitting at the bottom of the mast with her eyes closed. She was different from the women he knew. He tightened his grip on her shinai and walked over, standing over her.

He smirked as he noticed it took her a second to realized he was there. She blinked up at him. He held out a hand for her. Her blue orbs roamed over him, finally settled on the bamboo weapon in his hand. She smirked in reply. She grabbed his forehead and planted her right foot under her. He pulled her up to her feet. He handed her weapon. 

Ruby walked a few feet away from him and held out her weapon in front of her. Zoro grabbed his white sword with sheath. They made eye-connect, challengingly the other to move first.

Zoro moved toward her. She shifted into a defensive position as Zoro brought down his sword against her bamboo one. She stepped out of the way, letting the swords angle down to the deck. She spun, showing Zoro her back for a moment. He felt the tips of her soft hair brush against his cheek. He smelt strawberries in the air before the woman finished her spin, facing him again.

~Ruby~

She spun around and gave the green haired man a grin. She saw him take a huge breath, closing his eyes. She wondered what he was doing. She noticed the way his arms tensed. There was a glint in his eyes when he opened them. She recognized it. Zoro, the swordsman of the straw hat pirates, was turned on. She cocked an eyebrow at him. She wondered…she could wonder about that later. 

Zoro came at her. She rose her bamboo sword to meet his. They met with a muffled bang. Zoro flexed his arms, his shoulders hunched forward, trying to overpower her. Ruby pushed on her bamboo sword, fighting him off. She felt her hands and the bamboo hilt forced against her chest. If they were wielding actually blades, her shirt would been cut and she would have been bleeding as she felt the white sheath push on her left shoulder.

~Zoro~

Zoro didn’t know what the hell was wrong with him. He didn’t feel this way toward Nami. He stared into Ruby’s blue orbs before his eyes slid down to her lips. They were pushed into a thin line. His eyes continued south until they reached the medium sized mounds already heaving. He spotted two hard pearls through her blue tank top. His eyes flashed upwards and met hers. There was a flash of pain as she made a noise of pain. He blinked, resting his eyes on her collar bone and shoulder. He backed off a bit. He heard Ruby gave a sigh of relief and hoped he hadn’t given her a bruise.

Her eyes flickered over his shoulder. He heard Love-cook shout something about those damn trees. Ruby’s eyes widen and she sunk down, sitting on her ankle. Zoro cursed as he realized she was eye-level with his crotch, his eyes following her movements. An image flashed through his mind of Ruby gazing up through her eyelashes and her lips wrapped around his cock – pain erupted from the back of his shoulders.

~Ruby~

Ruby glanced over Zoro’s shoulders. She saw Sanji kicked Luffy from the small tree grove, aiming at Zoro. She spread her legs, kneeling down to sit on her ankles. she noticed something as she became eye-level with Zoro’s crotch and saw the tent. She glanced up. Zoro’s eyes darken with desire before he soared over her head and through the wall a few feet behind her.

 _“Ruby, dear, are you alright?”_ Sanji asked, _“That shitty swordsman didn’t hurt you, did he?”_ the cook growled, _“I’ll kill him if he did.”_

_“Na, he didn’t, Sanji, I’m alright,” _Ruby smiled up at Sanji. His visible eye transformed into a heart. He did a noodle danced and started yelling something about Nami-swan and Ruby-chan.__

__Ruby rolled her eyes. She glanced behind her. Luffy stood up out of the part that used to be a wall. Zoro could heard muttering something unintelligent into the floor. She shrugged and walked to the women’s quarters, putting her shinai away._ _

__

__She came back up and headed to the kitchen when_ _

__“NNNNNNNAAAAAANNNNIIIIII?” seemed to echo off the water’s surface. She blinked as she peered on the back deck where she spotted Nami, Usopp, and Luffy staring at a piece of brown paper on the deck. Ruby walked over, bent over, and grabbed the paper. She turned it over and Luffy’s wide grin stared up at her. He held two fingers up in a peace sign._ _

__‘Straw Hat Monkey D Luffy Wanted Dead or Alive $30,000,000’_ _

__Ruby looked up at Luffy and grinned, nodding her head. She handed the bounty poster back to Luffy before she walked off toward the kitchen. Sanji came out of the kitchen, nearly running into her._ _

___“Sorry,”_ he said before he joined the rest of the crew on the back deck, probably discussing the wanted poster._ _

__Later that afternoon, Ruby looked up, hearing an explosion. She glanced at Sanji, meeting his eyes._ _

___“Probably Usopp and Luffy firing the cannon again,”_ the cook explained, shrugging his shoulders, and turned back to the stove, cooking dinner._ _

___“Still, I’m gonna check, just in case,”_ Ruby replied. She had past missions where one of her teammates – Tony or Clint, sometimes another idiot - misfired something and everything went to hell in a hand basket, lightspeed. She stood up from the table and walked to the door. She opened it and stepped out. She sighed. She hated being right sometimes. _ _

__Ruby walked down to the main deck. She spotted Zoro with a sword out, holding it in front of him. Something exploded on the other side of the Going Merry, over the ocean. She glanced where Luffy and Usopp stood and on the other side of the railing, there was a shitty looking Marine ship._ _

__The ship was no bigger than the Going Merry and it was in poor condition. Ruby wondered briefly how much longer would it stay afloat. Her blue eyes roamed over the Marine crew – they were out of shape. She noticed the Marines stared at her. They probable haven’t seen a woman in god knows how long. Ruby let a coy smirk with a wink. Their eyes transformed into hearts. She swayed her hips a bit more as she walked to the mast and lent against the mast with her arms crossed under her breasts._ _

__Ruby looked at the pink haired man who apparently was in charged. He blinked at her before he decided to ignore her. He would regret that, later. A couple men rushed to one of the Marine’s cannons and prepared to fire. Ruby spotted a crack along the cannon barrel. She shook her head, wondering if this Marine crew were part of the budget cuts since their ship was worst state then she thought it was._ _

__The cannon backfired in the Marines’ faces. Ruby snorted in amusement, watching as the black smoke cleared. The entire Marine crew were covered in scoot and gunpowder residue. The pink haired man – Fullbody, right?- stared in shock before he growled an order. The Marine boat bumped against the Going Merry. The Marines jumped on the Going Merry._ _

__Usopp back peddled away from the charging Marines. Luffy stood his ground and slipped into his signature stance. Zoro pulled out his swords, biting down on the white sword’s hilt. Ruby pushed off from the mast and stepped away._ _

__Ruby saw four of the Marine rushed her. She noticed the lusty glint in their beady eyes. She smirked. She snapped one of the Marines’ in his gut, sending him stumbling back a few feet. She threw a hard right hook at the next man, sidestepping his attempt to slice her in half. The Marine crumbled to the ground without a sound as the third marine stepped up to face her. She ducked under his wild swing of his sword and jumped up, slamming her right knee into the underside of his jaw. He fell back, eyes rolling into the back of his head. The last marine paused and stared at her with horror. She took a step forward. The Marine gave a small scream before he ran away. Ruby cocked her head to the side, thinking ‘Well, that was disappointing.’_ _

__Fullbody screamed, suddenly. Ruby’s eyes snapped to him. Sanji stood at the top of the stairs, wearing a pink apron and holding a frying pan. The blonde glared at the pink haired man who yelled something. The conscious marines limped back to their ship as Fullbody jumped off the Going Merry railing, flew over his ship and over the far railing of his ship. Ruby blinked. She glanced down at the trio she knocked out._ _

___“Are they dead?”_ Sanji asked._ _

___“Shouldn’t be. Just knocked out. See if Zoro will help me move these guys and Luffy will keep the ships together long enough to get these three over on their ship, would ya?”_ Ruby replied. She reached down and grabbed one of them by their shirts before she dragged him over to the railing. _ _

__Luffy held onto the Marines ship railing. Ruby bent her legs and bodily picked up the marine before she threw him over onto the other ship. Two more bodies flew over her shoulder as Zoro stepped up next to her. Luffy let go of the Marine ship and used his legs to pushed it away from them. Ruby glanced at Zoro before she nodded her thanks. She walked away, swaying her hips, feeling eyes on her rear and disappeared back into the kitchen._ _

__~Abroad the Moby Dick~_ _

__Marco read the newspaper in silence. He muttered to himself, “Another coup in a South Blue Village.” He turned the page and came across a new wanted poster. “Straw Hat Luffy, 30 million,” he studied the picture. The guy – Straw Hat Luffy – looked like an idiot._ _

__“Hey, Marco,” Ace, the second division commander, walked up, “Is there any new wanted posters out?”_ _

__“Just this one,” Marco handed the wanted poster of ‘Straw Hat Luffy’ over, “He looks like an idiot.” He glanced at Ace. Ace’s face froze. “What is it, Ace?”_ _

__“That’s not just any idiot,” Ace grinned brightly at the first commander, “My younger brother!” He started to jump around, “He finally did it. He got a wanted poster! Not bad for his first bounty! Pops!” Ace ran toward the huge man sitting in the captain’s chair. “Pops! This is my younger brother, Luffy!”_ _

__Emerald, the red head second division vice-commander, walked up and asked to Ace, “What got you excited, dear?”_ _

__“My younger brother, Luffy, finally has a bounty!” Ace explained._ _

__“Hmm,” Emerald looked at the bounty amount, “He’s just starting out, right?” Ace nodded. “His first bounty is higher than your first bounty.”_ _

__Ace paused, thinking back and shouted, “That little shit!”_ _

__~The Straw Hat Pirates~_ _

__Later that night, Ruby blinked at the huge gold speakers tiredly. She just spent most of day trying to get through the rest of the ‘Beginnning Japanese’. She was pretty damn sure the sound coming from those speakers echoed all the way to the Grand Line. She heard someone speaking and caught the name of island ‘Mirrorball’ and something like “Tonight’s our great….Dance Carnival!” If she understood Japanese right._ _

__The Straw Hats walked forward, looking around. Ruby blinked as she took in the vivid colors. The anime was not this bright with its colors. She followed the crew as they walked down the street. She heard someone running and glanced forward._ _

__Micheal Jackson dashed toward the crew. Ruby blinked, again. That didn’t look right. Micheal Jackson died back in 2009, right? She turned, watching as the man with an Egyptian style beard. She knew the creator of One Piece based someone of the Characters off of famous people like Micheal Jackson and that character was Jango, right. He was a hypnotist if she remembered correctly._ _

__Zoro asked “Huh? Wasn’t that Jango?”_ _

__“Yeah,” Usopp replied._ _

__A squad of marines ran past the crew with their weapons drawn. Ruby waited until they passed before she snorted in amusement. She heard the crew except for Luffy walked away._ _

__“Looks like the Marines are after him,” the long nose stated, “Serves him right.”_ _

__“Let’s just get going before we get involved somehow, okay,” Nami suggested._ _

__“You’re so right, Nami-san,” Sanji immediately agreed._ _

__

__Ruby muttered a “Goddamn it!” as she spotted a Marine stop and pulled out something and look back before re-directing his gaze down at the piece of brown paper._ _

__Ruby grabbed Luffy’s arm and dragged him behind her as she took off in a dead run._ _

__“Run for it!” Ruby yelled, running pass the crew._ _

__“Why did this have to happen?” Nami questioned._ _

__“I can’t imagine!” Sanji replied._ _

__“It’s because Luffy was standing there like an idiot!” Usopp added in._ _

__“Less talking,” Ruby called out, “More running!”_ _

__“Don’t sweat it!” Luffy said, with a hand on top of his head, holding his hat in place._ _

__Ruby led the crew through back streets, ran up staircases, bumped into crates and dodged people as the crew tried to lose the Marines. Half way through the chase, Ruby let go of Luffy._ _

__Ruby skidded to a stop as she realized she made a wrong turn and led the crew to a drop off. She spun around and saw it was too late to go the way they came. However, Luffy ran straight them. The SHIELD agent paled, knowing what would happen and braced herself as Luffy forced the crew over the edge. Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro could be heard yelling. Ruby kept her mouth shut._ _

__“Gum-Gum no Fussion!”_ _

__Son of a bitch!_ _

__Luffy’s midsection swelled up and pushed the crew forward, straight at the mirror ball. They landed. Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and Usopp were back on their feet within a second. Ruby took a moment longer. Zoro’s hand wrapped around her upper left arm, helping her to her feet, and tried to escape what was coming._ _

__Ruby felt Luffy’s body weight slam down onto her. She, now, knew what it felt like to be a smooshed bug. Luffy deflated as the mirrorball started to rock away from the crew. Ruby reached out and grabbed Luffy’s red vest with her right hand, holding on tight onto it. She grabbed Zoro’s upper arm and tighten her grip as the mirrorball flew away from the crew. They flew through the air._ _

__Ruby heard Jango’s voice through the speakers. She knew enough of Japanese, now, to understand what the idiot was saying._ _

__“Time to let loose! Nothing can stop us now! When the music starts kickin’, you’re gonna dance til you drop!” Jango said, “One! Two! Jango!”_ _

__Ruby landed on top of Luffy. She rolled off of him, in time for Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and Usopp to land on top of him. Luffy looked daze. Ruby shook her head. The Music started with a thunderous first note. To Ruby’s horror and amusement, the crew raised their arms as one. They took a step back, throwing their arms down, turned their heads back and forth before they rose their left hands. Ruby felt her hips sway circle as her arms rose, her fingers snapping to the beat. Nami looked enraged as did Zoro. Sanji looked irritated. Usopp appeared to be annoyed. Luffy took it in stride. Ruby grinned at the crew and stated in Japanese, “I have an idea to get back to the Going Merry.”_ _

__“Oh,” Zoro said._ _

__“We will dance our way back,” Ruby smirked as Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Nami glared at her, “Just do as I do,” she stated, “That should be easy enough for the four of you.” Nami glared even harder, getting the hinted insult._ _

___“I cannot deliver my words,  
cannot make you understand  
My heart outruns my body  
I want to see you now  
I can’t wait any longer  
The midnight freezes my sighs.” _ _ _

__Ruby spun several times, heading down the street. Nami followed Ruby’s example. The men followed the two woman._ _

___“Ready to, Steady go, my feelings  
Run at full speed  
This heart that beats strongly, quickly  
Ah! My sadness won’t stop.” _ _ _

__Zoro switched places with Nami, suddenly, and Ruby blinked at him, surprised. He wrapped his arm around her waist._ _

___“Lovin’ you, lovin’ me, I accelerate myself  
And lose control  
The shooting stars want to share  
This new love.” _ _ _

__Ruby placed her right hand on top of Zoro’s shoulder and grasped his other hand as the green haired man led her through a fast ballroom dance, emerging them out on to a crowded street and the duo cut a path for the rest of the Straw Hats to follow._ _

___“We begin now not as family, not as friends  
I feel you so close  
I always wanna see you  
I wanna hold you tight again.” _ _ _

__Damn! If Ruby didn’t know any better, she would have thought someone wrote this song for her and Zoro. She always dreamed of meeting Zoro._ _

___“at a bench under the sky full of stars  
The air makes me shake  
Ready to, steady go, my overwhelming  
Feelings become one  
Fall and go down at this moment  
Ah! Come true my wishes  
Lovin’ you, lovin’ me, this light  
Hidden in my heart is true  
The star of eternity will always, always  
Show this brightness.” _ _ _

__Ruby broke eye connect with Zoro. She couldn’t afford to like this man, now when she was going to leave within the next few days. She glanced over at Sanji and Nami who appeared to be dancing a ballroom style dance too. Luffy disappeared. Usopp danced by himself._ _

___“I cannot deliver my words,  
cannot make you understand  
My heart outruns my body  
I want to see you now  
I can’t wait anymore  
I cannot stop myself a bit.” _ _ _

__Ruby felt Zoro grab her chin, forcing her to look at him in the face. Their eyes met. She felt his body tensed with some energy._ _

___“Ready to, Steady go, my feelings  
Run at full speed  
This heart that beats strongly, quickly  
Ah! My sadness won’t stop  
Lovin’ you, lovin’ me, I accelerate myself  
And lose control  
The shooting stars wanna share  
This new love.”_ _ _

__What would her mother say? The infamous Black Widow never had a man to bring home to meet Ruby before so the red head had no clue. The only advice she gave Ruby when she had asked about love, ‘Love is for children’. If Ruby knew anything about Natasha, Natasha would play for a while and figured out a way home._ _

__The crew reached the gangplank of the Going Merry. Zoro and Ruby quickly danced up it, followed by Sanji and Nami with Usopp bringing up the rear. Zoro parted from her as he and Sanji prepare the ship to leave the docks._ _

__Ruby laughed as she reached into her jacket and pulled out her IPod as the swordsman, the navigator, the sharpshooter, and the cook fell to the deck. She scrolled through her music collection and quickly choose ‘She-Wolf’ by Shakira. She blasted the volume and danced around the deck with a playful smirk on her lips. It would another hour before she fell to the deck._ _

__~The Avengers Tower~_ _

__Natasha Romanoff paced back and forth. Her green eyes glinted with worry. It had been five days since anyone seen her adoptive daughter, Ruby. The young woman disappeared on the way to her classes. She heard the elevator doors opened. Her gaze snapped to the doors as they part. The rest of the Avengers minus Thor stood there._ _

__“I’m sorry,” Clint said, “None of my contacts have heard anything about Ruby.”_ _

__“Jarvis hasn’t been able to find her on the planet,” Tony stated, “I’ve been watching the footage.” He paused, “Didn’t Ruby arrive the same mysterious way 13 years ago?”_ _

__“Yes,” Natasha replied._ _

__“So, in other words, we may never see her again,” Tony stated._ _

__“Stark,” Steve snapped. Natasha sat down on a nearby couch. She remembered Ruby’s birthday present. Ruby wanted to go to the amusement park off of Cosa Rica, Jurassic World. The young woman had been wanting to go there since it opened. Now, Natasha might not never be able to take her daughter there._ _


	4. August 26th and welcome to Loguetown

Ruby grabbed the tablecloth as Luffy and Zoro moved the wooden slab. Usopp waited until the captain and the first mate moved through the doorway and grabbed one of the boxes that held the wooden slab in the air. Nami grabbed another box. The coward duo disappeared through the door. Ruby folded the tablecloth. Sanji stood at one end of a bench they used to sit on when they ate and Ruby set the tablecloth on top of the bench before the assassin duo picked it up. Sanji walked backwards out of the kitchen, tilting the bench as he walked around the corner. Ruby followed him to the back deck. 

Nami grabbed the tablecloth from the bench. She threw it over the wooden slab. Ruby and Sanji set the bench down beside the table. Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp headed back to the kitchen. Ruby and Sanji followed them. Luffy and Zoro finished bringing out the other bench as Usopp, Ruby, and Sanji carried out the food and clean dishes.

Ruby grinned as she set the silverware down on the table. She felt the sea breeze play with her ponytail. She grinned slightly. She grabbed a plate and filled it with food. She set her plate down on the table. Before she could sit down, Zoro grabbed her arm and pulled her next to him. She raised an eyebrow at him, question. He blinked at her before he reached for his own plate and filled it up. Ruby rolled her eyes. She would eventually figure if the swordsman actually like her in a friend kind of way, wanted to be friends with benefits, or wanted to be in a serious relationship. She reached out, grabbed her plate, and started to eat.

“We’re finally nearing the Grand line,” Nami started after lunch and putting the kitchen items back in the kitchen. They switched locations. Nami knelt on the deck, looking at a map. Luffy sat with his back toward his favorite seat. Sanji stood, looking down at the map. Usopp lend back against the railing between Luffy and Sanji with his arms crossed over his chest. Zoro stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankles, resting his back against the railing. Ruby sat, cross legged on the railing. Nami continued, pointing at the map, “It looks like the only way into it is through Reverse Mountain here.”

“What a pain,” Zoro spoke up, “Can’t we just sail straight into it?”

“Nope,” Sanji replied, “From what the geezer told me, that’s the only way boats can enter.”

“Correction, the only way non-navy ships can enter,” Ruby said, “The Navy has a special coating at the bottom of their ships to avoid the Sea Kings.”

“Sea Kings?” Usopp asked. 

Ruby nodded, “The Calm belt is a known Sea King nesting area. Hundreds of Sea Kings roam through that area daily and they are not anything to shake a stick at. One of them could easily shallow us whole.”

Usopp paled and his knees started to shake.

“Alright, I got it, Then Let’s head straight into it,” Luffy cheered. 

“Are you even paying attention,” Nami shouted at Luffy.

“But it sounds fun,” Luffy argued, “Plus it’d feel way better going straight into it.”

“If you have a death wish,” Ruby pointed out.

 

“Talking to you make me feel like I’m gonna go crazy,” Nami moaned, clutching her head in her left hand.

“Short trip from what it sounds like,” Ruby muttered. Nami glared at her. Ruby blinked, innocently in responses.

“Anyways, let’s stop at an island first and get meat,” Luffy said, “Meat! Meat!”

Nami pointed her finger at an island on the map, explained, “There’s a famous city on this island...Loguetown.”

“Loguetown?” Luffy asked, “What? Is it famous for its meat?”

“Nope,” Ruby replied, “It’s famous for Roger.”

“Roger?” Luffy cocked his head. Ruby sighed.

“Loguetown is also known as the City of the beginning and the end,” Zoro spoke up, “I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that before.”

“It’s the town where Gold Roger, the old King of the Pirates,” Nami started, looking down at the map, “was born and executed.”

The crew didn’t say anything for a long moment. Luffy broke the silence, “The town where the King of the Pirates died.”

Nami looked at Luffy with a smile, “Wanna go?”

Ruby thought, ‘dumb question.’

“Yeah,” Luffy said with a thoughtful glint in his eye, “I wanna see it. I wanna see the town where the man who got the One Piece – everything this world has to offer – was born and then died!”

The red head looked ahead, at the horizon. She knew Luffy’s – who be his oldest – enemies would converge on the same island. 

“How long before we reach Loguetown?” Ruby asked.

“It will be another three days before we reach there,” Nami replied. 

Ruby nodded, her thoughts turning to what tomorrow was. Her 20th birthday. She wondered what her adoptive mother got her. Ruby had been dropping hints for tickets to go to the amusement park off of Cosa Rica – Jurassic World – for months now. She glanced off into the blue sky. Tonight, she planned to take watch. Maybe she could reach Thor and get a way home when the Straw Hats docked at the next island. She sighed.

Ruby climbed up to the crow’s nest and waited for midnight to roll around. She fought sleep as she saw the moon reached overhead. She stood on the edge of the nest before she yelled to the sky, “Hey, Asguard watcher guy, could you send Thor to the island with a town called Loguetown on it? I really don’t know how I got here, but I really want to go home!” she paused, “Please?”

Ruby watched the sky for any sign of the watcher guy heard her. She knew there was not going to any sign, but she clung to hope. She stepped down and whispered, “Happy Birthday, Ruby. It is your 20th birthday and you are nowhere near home.”

She turned and blinked at the shadowy figure standing on deck, looking up at her. She tensed. The clouds moved overhead and the moon light revealed it was Luffy, watching her. She relaxed her tensioned muscles.

Ruby climbed down from the crow’s nest. She looked at Luffy and asked, “What’s up, Luffy?”

“Join my crew, Ruby,” Luffy stated.

“I’m just traveling with you guys,” she replied.

“I want you to join my crew, Ruby,” Luffy repeat.

Ruby sighed. She knew how Luffy was. The Straw Hat Captain was a stubborn and selfish. She knew she was not going out of this.

“Let me think about it,” She answered.

“What is there to think about?” Luffy asked, “Don’t you want adventure?”

“I have obligations, Lu, at home,” she explained a little, “Anyway, I’m off to bed.” She walked by him and headed to the women’s quarters for bed.

Ruby woke up, feeling off. She sighed as she saw the wooden ceiling. There was nobody to wish her happy birthday, today. She curled up, sitting with her hands behind her. Today would be another day, weather she liked or not and that meant. She stood up and put away her bedding before she slipped on her pair of shorts, a spare sports bra, and her combat boots. She headed above deck. She went to the rope ladder and climbed up to the crow’s nest. She didn’t go into the crow’s nest, but she placed her hands on the piece of wood holding the sail up and swung until she was in the middle and started training, performing chin-ups to 200. She swung her body around, hooking her legs over the wooden beam and preformed sit ups till she reached 200. She relaxed her legs, allowing her body to fall toward the deck. She flipped halfway, landing on her feet. 

“I take it,” Zoro’s voice rang out, “You do that everyday.”

“Yeah,” Ruby nodded, “Sometime I change it up to include running, boxing, and other mixed martial arts.” She panted. 

“Here you go, Ruby-chan,” Sanji cooed, bringing over a small barrel of water. She smiled her thanks and took it before she drained it. It was refreshing to her heated body, cooling her insides. 

“Thanks, Sanji,” Ruby said. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. She headed to the bathroom at the back of the storage room to get cleaned up.

~Loguetown~

Marine Captain Smoker glanced around the house he shared with his girlfriend, Crystal Le Roux. He sighed at the sad attempt of a breakfast. He wanted to surprise her since it was her 20th birthday. He grabbed a tray and loaded up a plate with somewhat burnt pancakes, fluffy eggs, and glass of orange juice. He walked calmly to their bedroom and pushed the door open. He stared at the sleeping red head figure on his bed. He walked to her side of the bed and set the tray down on the nightstand. He sat on the edge of the bed and placed a kiss on Crystal’s lips. She growled, softly. He smirked as he spoke, “Beautiful, it is time to wake up.” Crystal scouted down further the under the covers, “My gem,” Smoker ran his fingers under the covers, brushing the bare side of her body. She jerked away before she poked her head out of under the covers. She glared her blue orbs at him.

“What the hell do you want, Smoker,” Crystal growled, “I don’t have to go to work, today, so why the hell are you trying to wake me up on my day off?”

“Happy Birthday, love,” Smoker let a gently smile cross his lips. His eyes took in her wild hair from their activities last night.

“It is my birthday?” Crystal commented with surprise.

“Yup,” Smoker replied, “Do you want breakfast first or your desert?”

Crystal licked her lips, her eyes glinted with lust. It was not a hard choice. She replied, “Desert.” She reached up and grabbed his white jacket with both hands and pulled him down on top of her.

~The Moby Dick~

There was a high pitch scream that seem to echo off the ocean and the skies. Emerald jerked awake and looked at her boyfriend, Ace. He looked around, confused. They listened to the commotion on deck.

“-someone get the damn nurses!”

“Oh my god!”

“What happen to him?”

“Who would have done that to Thatch?”

“Someone get Pops!”

“Already did, he wants the vice and commanders in his room, asap.”

Ace swung his legs over the side of the bed, already reaching for his boxers and shorts. Emerald paused, staring at his bare ass before she moved quickly to get dressed. She slipped her bra straps over her shoulders when there was a harsh pounding on their door.

“Commander Ace, Vice-Commander Emerald!”

“We know,” Ace shouted, “We will be there.” He turned to Emerald and hooked her bra for her before she pulled a green tank top over her head and jerked her legs into a pair blue jean, shortie shorts. She pushed her feet into a wedged sandals and did the straps up on her heels. She glanced over at Ace who handed her, her seastone knife. She slipped on her side. The couple walked from their room and headed to Pops’ room. They joined Marco and his vice commander Yusuke on the way to Pops’ room. 

“What the hell is going on?” Ace asked.

“I heard something about Thatch,” Emerald commented, her blue eyes watching the first mate. 

“Pops will tell you,” Marco said, looking stress more than usual. Emerald shared a glance with Ace before the quartet disappeared into Pops’ quarters.

~The Heart Pirates~

 

Sapphire Le Roux walked along the hallway, heading to her favorite doctor’s quarters. She knocked on his door and waited with his breakfast in hand. 

“Come in,” the captain of the Heart Pirates called out. 

Sapphire opened the door and chirped out, “Morning, Law-sama.”

“Why are you so chipper this morning, Miss Sapphire,” Law glanced up from his medical book. She shut the door behind her after she stepped into the office. “And I thought I told you not to use ‘sama’.”

“No reason and yes, you did,” Sapphire replied, “Have you been up all night?” she set the tray down in front of him on his desk.

“Maybe,” Law answered. She grabbed the book he was reading and gently tugged it out his gasp. She took the bookmark she had made for him a couple years ago, in honor of their first anniversary, and marked his place. 

Law took a look down at the tray and noticed there was a folded up piece of paper. He opened it and quickly read it. That explains why Sapphire was so chipper. It was her 20th birthday. That was today? He glanced at the desk calendar and blinked at the date, August 26th.

“Happy Birthday, dear,” Law commented as Sapphire placed the medical book on a bookshelf.

“Thank you, Law-sama,” she purred. Law had another knee-jerk reaction to the way she used that title. He took a shaky breath and dug into his breakfast, knowing his head nurse won’t leave until he ate everything on his tray, on the orders of his cook. She walked behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders, messaging the knots she found out.

“How far are we from the next island,” Law asked, trying to keep his mind busy on his captain business and not on the way Sapphire’s hands felt on his shoulders, knowing the way they felt, clawing into his back when he found her sweet spot.

“Still a day out,” Sapphire replied, “Oh my, you are so tense, Law-sama,” she had lent down and whispered that into his ear. Law’s blood ran south.

“Keep that up, Miss Sapphire,” Law warned, his voice warmed, his eyes glinted with lust, “You may not like what will happen.”

“But Law-sama,” she whined a bit, “As your head nurse,” she laid her arms on either side of his neck, “I am responsible for your health.” Her hands stretch out, over his stomach, “If you are tensed, I feel it is my job to help relax you.” She placed a kiss behind his ear.

Law muffled a groan, knowing his lover won this round, and ordered, “Lock the door.” 

Sapphire let out a giggle as she went to the door and locked it. She turned to back to Law to find him, stalking toward her. Her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes reflected his lust. He grabbed her hips, pulling her to him.

“I am going make you work for your release,” Law whispered into her ear. He walked backwards, forcing the red head woman to follow him. “Strip for me, Sapphire.” He purred, the way he said that made it sound like a sin.

Sapphire moaned, softly, in response.

~The Kidd Pirates~

_Diamond must admit to herself, this was not the way she wanted to wake up on her birthday day. She jerked at the chains around her wrists and ankles. She wondered what the happen while she was asleep and more importantly, where the hell was Kidd? Her blue eyes roam over the room, noticing it was the captain’s quarters abroad the Kidd Pirates’ ship. At least she was not kidnapped, again. There was another problem she faced. She was naked as the day she was born and laid on the bed, spread eagle. If Kidd or another crewmember walked in, they would an eyeful of her goods and she would never be able to look at them in the eye again. She sighed._

_“A little birdie,” Kidd’s voice drifted through the air, “Told me that today was your birthday.”_

_Diamond blushed bright as her hair color and replied in a tone she hoped was steady, “Y-yes, today is my 20th birthday.” Shit, she thought and continued, “But that doesn’t explain why I’m like this.”_

_“Why not?” Kidd stepped out of the shadows by the door. His firy eyes roamed over her nude form, “I rather enjoy the show.” He paused, “Don’t you agree, Killer?”_

_Diamond let a squeak of surprise as she saw the first mate stepped out of the captain’s personal bathroom._

_“Yes, I do, Kidd,” Killer voiced his agreement._

_“Could you undo the damn chains,” Diamond asked, “Please?”_

_“Nope,” Kidd replied, “We have plans with you like that.” He walked to the bed._

_“We?” she managed to say before Kidd caught her lips in a searing kiss._

Diamond Le Roux jerked out of her bed and landed on the floor. She blinked at the wall. Damn. It was just a dream – a really lusty wet dream. She groaned as her body hummed with lust. “Goddamn it,” she said, softly, “I really wish I didn’t lust after my captain and first mate.” She climbed back on her bed and listened. It sounded like no one else was up. Good. She would be able to take her personal problem without any interruptions. She ran a hand over her curves. She let out a soft moan escape her lips, closing her eyes, imaging Kidd’s hand was pleasing her instead her own while Killer kissed on her neck and message her breasts.

Standing outside of her door, Killer looked at the door with raised eyebrows, listening to the only woman on the ship pleasure herself and whisper not only the captain’s name, but his as well. He crept away, intending to find Kidd. He smirked at the thoughts running through his head. Diamond might get a unique birthday present later if Kidd gave the okay. After all, the captain gets his choice of women first.

~The Straw Hats~

Ruby felt better after her shower. She went to the kitchen to grab her laptop, but Luffy stood in front of her, blocking her way to the kitchen. He leveled his gaze with hers.

“Join my crew!”

This again, Ruby thought. She knew the Straw hat captain was highly stubborn.

“I have to think about, Luffy,” she protested, “I have stuff I still have to do at home.” She refused to admit she damn near whined during that sentence.

“So?” Luffy said. “Can’t it wait?”

“No,” Ruby replied. She spun around on her heel and walked away from the kitchen, heading back to the women’s quarters. Maybe she could get some peace and quiet there. Her laptop was in the damn kitchen. She muttered a curse.

Ruby hid in the women’s quarters for the rest of the day until Nami poked her head into the room. 

“Hey, Ruby,” she started, “Could you come to the kitchen?”

“Sure,” the named young woman replied and walked up the stairs after Nami. Once she got to the kitchen, her jaw dropped in surprise. There was a three tier cake sitting in the middle of the kitchen table with the word written in icing, ‘Happy Birthday’ and a red icing shaped ruby sat beneath those words.

“Happy Birthday,” Luffy, Usopp, Nami, Zoro, and Sanji chorused.

“How – how did you know?” Ruby managed to say. She leant against the door frame. Her blue eyes wide with shock.

“I remembered Shanks always talking about his girls, saying even though they were sextuples sisters and shared the same birthday, they were very different from each other. He told me that his eldest ‘baby girl’ disappeared after eating a devil fruit,” Luffy explained, staring at her straight in her eyes, “I asked one time when his girls’ birthday – August 26th and why he was still searching for her. He told me he knew she was alive somewhere, he just had to a way to find her. Even after he left for the Grand Line, I never forgot his daughters’ birthday.”

Ruby wanted to open her mouth and deny she was not Shanks’ daughter, but for the first time in since she started training to be an assassin and spy, words failed her. She felt exposed. She knew she didn’t let her guard down, but Luffy slipped through and stole a piece of her. He was making it hard and harder to leave the crew behind. 

Ruby knew she had issues with trust ever since she was kidnapped. She had issues about her birth parents since she woke up from her coma. She always wondered who her birth parents were, what they were doing, if they even missed her or if they went back their day without caring about her. Natasha and Ruby were a lot similar when it came to certain issues and Ruby learned to always have her guard up so she wouldn’t be taken by surprise when it came to those issues. The last time she let someone close to her, she woke up and realized it was just a blissful dream about a blonde haired man who could transform into a blue phoenix, protecting her from her demons and the door opened to reveal her rapist. Ruby watched Luffy.

He walked over with a hand over his hat. He slipped it off his head and placed it over her red hair. He stepped back.

“So, thank you for living,” Luffy grinned. Ruby visibly jerked. Her eyes watered. She forced back the tears. Her hands reached up to the hat and curled around the brim above her ears. She pulled it further down on her head. She had a sudden flash in her mind’s eye of Luffy, crying at 8, doing the same when he sat on the cliff side with Ace, at 11, standing beside him, promising not to die. A tear slipped down her cheek.

“Baka,” Nami called out, “You are supposed to say Happy Birthday! Not thank you for living.”

“Dumbass, you made Ruby cry,” Sanji roared, ready to run around the table and beat Luffy up.

Zoro didn’t say anything. He watched the interaction between Luffy and Ruby. He noticed there was an accepting glint in the woman’s eyes.

The birthday girl fell to her knees in front of Luffy and wrapped her arms around Luffy’s waist, burring her face in his stomach before she turned her face, resting her left cheek against the captain’s midsection.

“Your welcome, Lu,” Ruby finally said, her voice thick with emotion.

“Can we eat the cake, now,” Luffy asked. She giggled.

“Let Ruby blow out the candles then we can get the cake,” Zoro said.

“Come on Ruby,” Luffy pushed Ruby up to her feet, “I want to eat the cake, already,” he whined. 

Ruby giggled harder and nodded, “Alright, Lu.” She walked over to the table. She closed her eyes and made her wish, _‘I wish I could find friends like the Straw Hats and they will never leave me alone again’_ before she blew out the candles on the cake. She grinned as Luffy cheered that they could have the cake now.

~the Red Haired Pirates~

Shanks glanced down into the bottle, mentally cursing he ran out again. He looked around his room. There were dozens of empty sake bottles laying on the floor of his captain quarters. He already got in contact with his daughters, except one. Ruby was his baby girl, even though she was the oldest of the six his wife popped out. She followed him everywhere, grinning widely. He remembered the comment he made to his wife one night while getting for bed – Ruby is gonna be an infamous Pirate one day, maybe even follow in his footsteps and join the pirate crew that would be known as the Second King of the Pirates crew.

He sighed. He had to find more sake. He wanted to drink until he reached the blacken state, where he didn’t have to remember what the day was nor he cared.

~The Moby Dick~

Marco rubbed his face with his hands. Thatch had been murdered. Nearly everyone had been accounted for expect for Marshall D. Teach. Right now, that was the only suspect they had. The night guards last night had even pointed the finger at Teach who left sometime in the early morning hours.

“Shit,” he muttered. He glanced at the calendar. It was Emerald’s birthday. Emerald didn’t say anything about it. She probably didn’t even think about the date.

It was also _her_ birthday. He reminded the teen girl fell onto the sails almost 6 years ago. The Phoenix had been intrigued by her. There was also a man with a mental left arm. By the time she and the mental armed man left the ship, the phoenix already made its decision and now, lay in wait for her return.

“Happy Birthday, Ruby,” Marco whispered. 

~The Straw Hats Pirates~

The following morning came too early for Ruby’s liking. She yawned as she climbed up to the deck. 

“Raise the anchor!” Luffy called out from the cannon room. Zoro was waiting for the anchor raise up from the ocean water and threw rope down, managed to hook the anchor and pulled it up.

“Set the sails,” Luffy called up to Sanji and Usopp who lent over the wooden beam and untied the sail. It immediately bellowed out, catching the early morning wind.

“Bring the ship forward!” Luffy shouted. Ruby stood at the sheep head helm and eased the ship out to sea. “Full speed ahead to the Grand Line!”

The red head shook her head in amusement. Nami stood by the railing, looking down at a map.

“Sanji!” Luffy yelled, “Breakfast!”

“Yeah, yeah,” the cook replied, “I’ll get started on it. Hold on.” He walked to the kitchen. He said to Nami, “Good morning, Nami-san.” He turned to Ruby who walked out of the kitchen. “Ruby-chan.”

“Good morning, Sanji-kun,” the two women echoed. Ruby placed her hip against the railing, standing with her arms crossed. She glanced at Nami who was watching Luffy bug Zoro about playing tag. Usopp ran over and joined Luffy bugging Zoro. Ruby rolled her eyes at their antics.

“I’m gonna get some more sleep before breakfast,” Zoro said, yawning.

“Oh,” Usopp grinned and poked the sleeping dragon, “’Cause you don’t like losing, huh?”

“What did you say?” Zoro asked, “I don’t give a damn about that.”

“See!” Usopp pointed at Zoro, “You’re suddenly mad!”

“What?” Zoro snapped. Both Luffy and Usopp parted and ran from Zoro. “Hold it, you guys.” The swordsman started.

Usopp ran around the mast as Zoro chased after him and added, “But it’s the truth, isn’t it!?” he blew a raspberry at Zoro.

Ruby sighed as Zoro turned to Usopp and gave chase after the long nosed sharpshooter.

“I’m over here! Come get me!” Usopp taunted.

“C’mon, Zoro,” Luffy cut in, “Chase me, too!”

“Boys,” Ruby said, “Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.”

“Yeah,” Nami replied, wistfully. 

“I’m not playing here,” Zoro shouted at the younger duo.

“Nami-san, Ruby-chan, your meal’s ready,” Sanji stepped out from the kitchen.

Ruby turned to Sanji, and said, “Thank you, Sanji-kun.”

“Hey, guys! Food’s on!” Sanji called out to the other men. Luffy and Usopp cheered.

“Hold it!” Zoro yelled, “I’m not done with you!”

“Even after he said all that,” Nami whispered. Both Ruby and Sanji looked at her.

“What was that?” Sanji asked, confused.

“No, it’s nothing,” Nami gave the cook a smile, “Whew, I’m hungry!”

“Food,” Luffy ran by Ruby, chanting. “This looks yummie!”

Ruby walked in and sat down, looking at the table. They apparently were having some sort of soup with bread and meat.

“Say, what do you suppose happened to Buggy after that?” Nami asked.

“Buggy?” Luffy asked around a mouthful of meat, “Oh, that Buggy? Who knows? Maybe he’s at the bottom of the ocean.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Zoro said, stepping into the kitchen, “Pirates are a stubborn lot, every last one of ‘em.” He dragged Usopp by his long nose behind him.

Ruby snorted in amusement, watching Luffy steal food from a plate.

“You’re the one who kept me stubbornly!” Usopp whined, “Ow!”

Zoro sat down beside Ruby. The swordsman ignored Usopp and said, “I hunted pirates for years. I can tell.” He raised his mug and took a long drink.

“Not that it matters, but your food’s gone, Usopp,” Sanji commented and handed Nami and Ruby a desert, “A special yogurt dessert.”

“You stole my food again,” Usopp stared at his plate dismay.

“Oh,” Nami said, “Thank you, Sanji-kun.”

“Thanks, blonde,” Ruby said after bite of the dessert.

“Give it back, you idiot,” Usopp cried out. 

“Hey,” Ruby said, “I bet y’all a thousand beli if we run into Buggy when we get to Loguetown.”

“He won’t be at Loguetown,” Nami argued, “But if you really want to lose that beli, you are on.”

Ruby smirked.

After breakfast, Ruby grabbed her laptop and had Phoenix tutor her more in the Japanese language. She took a break in the early afternoon to help clean the deck when she heard someone yell, “Dammit! Why does this happen to me?”

Ruby looked up and grinned widely in amusement as she saw a stream of white smoke across the sky. Buggy the clown just flew overhead and had no idea that the Straw Hats were below him. She giggled and went back to cleaning the front deck.

“Hey, Luffy,” Sanji said, “Quit slackin’ off!”

“Oh, Sorry,” Luffy replied, “Sorry.”

That night, Ruby sighed as she shut down Phoenix. She heard Luffy say, “Sanji..Food.”

“You just ate…” Sanji replied, “Gimme a break.”

“Shut up, you guys,” Zoro added in, “I can’t sleep.”

“You sleep too much,” Usopp had to put in his two cents worth, “Help out with work sometimes, Sheesh.”

Ruby glanced over at Nami. She stared at the small door separating the two sleeping quarters. 

“I’m amazed they can hold conversation in their sleep,” Nami said.

“Me too,” Ruby agreed.

“Talk about skillful,” Nami added. 

Ruby snorted before she said, “I’m going to bed.”

“Me too,” Nami said. The orangette blew out the lantern as Ruby shifted her bedding on the floor before she curled up under the covers, closing her eyes.

 

“Wow!” Luffy called out, “What a huge town!”

The Straw Hat crew landed on the island where Loguetown was located at. Ruby grinned, looking around.

“This placed used to be full of pirates on their way to the Grand Line,” Nami said.

“And who says it still isn’t,” Ruby suggested.

“A pair Marine Captains named Smoker and Crystal keep the law here,” Zoro explained.

“Crystal, huh?” Luffy said, glancing over his shoulder at Ruby. She gave him a glare.

“Anyway, it has everything you could ever need,” Nami acted like she was not interrupted.

“Alright,” Usopp stared at the town, “I’m gonna get equipment for our upcoming great adventure!”

“Looks like I can get some good ingredients here,” Sanji looked around at the various venders, “Good women, too!”

“I got something I wanna buy, too,” Zoro looked thoughtful.

Nami glanced up at Zoro before she gave him a blood thirsty grin, “Oh, how are you gonna do that?” Zoro looked down at Nami, “You’re flat broke, as I recall!”

“Zoro,” Ruby stage-whispered, “It’s a trap!”

“Alright. I’m gonna check out the execution platform,” Luffy said.

“Huh?” Usopp and Sanji said, looking at Luffy.

“I’m gonna see where the King of the Pirates was executed,” Luffy explained, running off.

“Hey, wait!” Usopp called after him, “We still haven’t decided where to meet up at.”

“I think it would be best if we all meet up,” Ruby started, “At the execution platform in the evening, just before nightfall.” She shot them a grin and grabbed Zoro’s arm. She dragged him after her, heading down the street.

“Ruby, wait,” Nami called out, “How are you going pay for anything?”

“I have my ways, Nami, don’t you worry,” Ruby called out then whispered, “I might get us chased out of town by nightfall, though.” She giggled.

“Ruby,” Zoro hissed. He looked a little more than irritated at her.

“What?” Ruby hissed, her fingers slipping through pockets, gathering wallets before she grabbed the money. “They won’t miss it until later.” She dropped the wallets in the middle of a crowd as she walked by. It wasn’t long before Ruby’s pockets were bulging with money.

“Damn, these are expensive,” Zoro muttered to Ruby as they looked the swords in the case, “too expensive.”

Ruby made a noise of agreement and suggested, “I might have to wait until we reach the Grand Line before I am able to one,” she sighed, “but of course, they might be still out of my price range.”

“Monster! How rude,” a woman called out. 

Ruby lend back, looking at the gathering crowd. Zoro looked over as well. She walked over with Zoro trailing after her.

“Aww, shut up,” A man ordered, “Our boss is behind bars all thanks to him!”

“Have you still not learned your lesson,” Ruby pushed her way through the crowd and spotted the blue haired woman – Tashigi – questioned the two armed men in front of her.

“Nope,” one of the men answered, “We ain’t happy with things as they are!”

“We’re gonna bring your corpse to him to see,” the other man added.

Ruby felt Zoro tensed behind her. She turned, keeping her eyes on the future fight and wrapped an arm around Zoro’s waist, holding the man to her.

“Just watch, Zoro,” she whispered.

“Very well,” Tashigi replied, “I will fight you.”

“You will, girlie,” one of them laughed.

“Don’t make us laugh,” the other commented.

Zoro’s expression harden. Ruby lend her head against his shoulder, making hard for him to reach for his white sword. She felt his chest to start vibrate with a low growl.

“What can a girl possibly do,” one of them asked, stupidly.

“Die!”

“Yeah!” the duo jumped.

“Dammit, Ruby,” Zoro grunted as he realized the red head woman had position herself, “She’s gonna get killed if I don’t do something.”

 

“Hold your horses, cowboy,” Ruby said, “She’s got this.”

“If she don’t,” he growled at her. 

“I will step in and teach those two a lesson,” she promised with a demonic grin.

A sword sung as it escaped its prison. Two screams echoed through the air. A sheath bounced against the ground. 

Ruby glanced over at Tashigi and saw the blue haired woman stood with her knees bent and her sword over her head. The two pirates landed on the ground.

Ruby shot a quick look at Zoro. He looked shocked.

“I told you she got it,” Ruby said, smugly.

“She did it!” A person called out in surprise.

“You’re strong, lady,” another added.

“You’re amazing,” a third said.

Ruby took a look at the ground in front of her. She spotted Tashigi’s glasses and stepped away from Zoro. She bent down and picked the swordswoman’s glasses up. Tashigi walked to her sheath, but she fell onto her face. Ruby winced. She walked over to the blue haired woman and helped her to her feet.

“Hey,” Ruby called out, “I think these are your glasses.”

“Thank you,” Tashigi said, “I can’t see a thing without them.”

“Your welcome.” Ruby said. She turned to face Zoro and pulled him by his arm. “Well,” she started, “Aren’t you glad I stopped you?”

“Maybe,” Zoro admitted, “Now, do you know where is another sword store in town?”

“Nope,” Ruby gave Zoro a grin before she stepped to a random person and asked, “Is there another sword store in town?”

“Excuse me,” Zoro and Ruby turned, looking at the person who spoke. It was Tashigi, “I can’t help, but over hear that you are looking for another sword store – Crystal!” Tashigi blinked at Ruby, “Why do you want a sword, Crystal?” 

Ruby pointed at herself and said in a questioning tone, “Did you just call me Crystal?” Tashigi nodded. “But I’m Ruby, not this Crystal bitch you mistaken me for.”

“Oh,” Tashigi paused, “What did you call Miss Crystal?”

“A bitch,” Ruby shot back and turned away. She sped walk toward an alley, leaving Zoro behind. 

“Hey get back here,” Tashigi ordered.

Ruby brought out into a run, heading an alley. She heard someone following her. She glanced over her shoulder. Zoro followed her. She shouted over her shoulder, “I thought you wanted to look for a sword.”

“You have the money,” Zoro shouted back. 

“Oh, I just got promoted to your sugar moma,” Ruby asked. She jumped over several trash cans. She glanced over her shoulder to Zoro and caught the blush that spread over his cheeks. She laughed. “Is she still following us?”

“Nope,” Zoro answered after a moment.

Ruby slowed to a stop. She leant against the wall to catch her breath. She glanced at Zoro. He panted. There was a glint in his eyes, but it was replaced by surprise. She glanced in the direction he was looking at and saw Luffy entering a huge courtyard. She pushed away from the wall and walked toward the captain.


End file.
